title: Gender difference in age at onset of schizophrenia: a cross sectional study from Pakistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To validate the effect of gender on age at onset of schizophrenia in a developing country.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of 252 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV criteria at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan between 2002 and 2008 were reviewed using a structured questionnaire. Age at onset was defined as age at onset of psychotic symptoms, age at first contact with a health care provider and age at first hospitalization. Socio-demographic variables were reported using descriptive statistics and all measures of age at onset were compared across gender using t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 119 women and 133 men with mean age of 37.6 +/- 12.8 years. All three measures of age at onset of illness showed no difference between women and men. The mean age when first psychotic symptoms appeared in men was 24.86 +/- 8.83 years (n = 128) while that in women was 26.57 +/- 9.96 years (n = 111), p = 0.160. The mean age at index hospitalization for treatment of psychosis in men was 29.50 +/- 10.64 years (n = 123) and in women was 31.61 +/- 12.07 years (n = 103), p = 0.164. The mean age at first contact with any caregiver in men was 29.73 +/- 37.58 years (n = 119) and in women was 29.38 +/- 11.99 years (n = 108), p = 0.926.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is no significant difference in age at onset of schizophrenia across gender in our population. This validates a difference in epidemiology of schizophrenia in the South Asian population.
authors.affiliation: Class of 2010, Medical College, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Imama
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Naqvi
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murtaza
authors.forename: Muhammad Ressam
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Nazir
authors.forename: Haider Ali
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Naqvi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult